Jodi Macken is the associate director of Macken Realty.
Every week, we ask a Miami real estate professional for their thoughts on the top three stories from the week before.
This week, we talked with Jodi Macken, the associate director of Macken Realty, a boutique firm with more than 35 years of experience in South Florida real estate; in addition to managing the daily operations of the firm, Jodi also maintains her own clientele of athletes, celebrities and Fortune 500 company executives.
Miami Agent (MA): Our coverage of international homebuyers always gets a lot of attention; why do you think Miami remains such a place of interest for buyers from other countries?
Jodi Macken (JM): We have an international culture down here. Our market is fueled by international buyers, especially the import/export business. Florida, based on its location, lends itself to being a prime destination – and that being said, that doesn’t even include the beaches, lifestyle and warm climate that we offer, so it’s really a no-brainer. We’ve always been a hub for international purchasers.
It’s the international buyers that took us from the bottom of the market – they fueled the robustness that we continue to see. It’s been a very profitable thing for us, and I believe that the infrastructure in Florida lends itself to that. Aside from the residential real estate market increasing, the commercial market has well.
MA: It’s no mystery that supply has been unable to keep up with demand in many of Miami’s markets. Do some markets have tighter supply than others?
JM: There’s not one area specifically; it’s across the board. It started with the condos, but at this point now, there’s so little available; it’s such a different world than it was four/five years ago, and even the single-family home markets out west, in the more suburban areas, are having the same situation we’re in. The demand is there, but there’s no supply, and that has caused prices to increase and turn the markets more into a seller’s market.
There have been many recent announcements of new construction, and that certainly will help, but I don’t see [the inventory shortage] lightening up anytime soon. The influx of foreigners just continues to grow, and as such, they all need housing and they don’t want to rent – they want to purchase.
MA: What are your main tips for agents who want to reach top producer status?
JM: My best suggestion to new agents is to find a mentor. That’s the first step. There’s nothing like the experience of a seasoned agent to broaden an agent’s horizon. Also, they’ve got to be available of all the new Web-based marketing options that are available, because sellers want their properties to be optimized in terms of the marketing. Also, you need to offer full service; in real estate, clients want to know that they’re important and that they’re being well taken care of.